Butterfly

This afternoon we visited the garden centre where my wife works sometimes.  They are specialist dahlia growers and the displays were stunning.  I hadn't appreciated the many types of dahlias and the wide range of colours and shapes.  I took many photographs of the gorgeous blooms and could have used any to fit the "Flower Friday" theme.

However, we also visited the "butterfly corner" while we were there. This is an enclosed area full of tropical plants with lots of butterflies flying around. I have little success in photographing butterflies and other creatures in the wild, so I did my best to get shots of them in  these controlled conditions.  One of my best shots, shown here, was of one butterfly which decided to risk getting trodden underfoot by landing on the floor. The photograph would not do well in a "nature" competition because of the tiled floor, but it does at least show the detail on the wings and body of the creature and the focus is pretty well spot on.